Pregnant Pause

Although morning sickness and feelings of nausea can be really unpleasant, there are some remedies and self-help tips that you can try yourself to try and ease the discomfort. Here are some of the top tips:

- If you tend to feel sick first thing in the morning, take your time to slowly get up.
- It may help to eat a small amount of food – whatever you can stomach – as soon as you get up, or even before you get out of bed.
- Move around slowly and try to avoid making any sudden movements, like getting up quickly.
- Rather than having several big meals, try eating small amounts of food regularly throughout the day, for example, every two to three hours.
- Eat slowly and sit still for a while after you’ve eaten.
- Make sure you drink plenty of fluid, such as water, herbal tea or fruit juice, to ensure you do not get dehydrated.
- Avoid drinking alcohol and caffeine.
- Ginger is a great remedy for nausea and is widely used in Chinese hospitals. Try sucking a small piece of crystallised ginger, sipping ginger tea or nibbling a ginger biscuit.
- Try wearing seasickness bands on your wrists. They are based on the theory of acupressure and can help relieve feelings of sickness.
- If you are aware that certain smells can provoke your nausea, do your best to avoid them.
- It may help to eat a small snack before you go to bed. Dry crackers are often a good option.
- Get plenty of rest.
- At night, sleep with the windows slightly open, so you have got some fresh air. In the majority of cases, morning sickness stops after about 12 weeks but one in 10 cases, women can continue to feel sick for longer into their pregnancy.

If you are regularly being very sick, you are losing weight and cannot keep any liquids down, or you are worried about your health or that of your baby, please always seek medical advice.